Special honor for the Egyptian hero on the sidelines of the Paris 2024 tournament

Written by: AlZahraa Rashad

Olympic weightlifter Tariq Yahya began his sports career in weightlifting at the Maghagha Youth Center in Minya Governorate in 1998. He succeeded in winning several championships, starting with the Regional Championship and the Republic Championship. He then moved on to practice sports professionally at the Tala’i El-Geish Club, which qualified him to join the Egyptian national team in 2006.

“Yahya” participated in many international tournaments, starting with the Arab and African championships. He succeeded in achieving more than 35 medals at the Arab and continental levels. He also won two gold medals in the Mediterranean Games, and succeeded in setting the record in the clean and jerk in the last Mediterranean Games he participated in, which was in Turkey in 2013, and the record is still recorded. His name is still in the records of this session. In addition to these achievements, he succeeded in achieving third place in the 2010 World Senior Championship in Turkey, first place in the Islamic Solidarity Games in Indonesia, first place in the Arab-Afro-Asian Championship in Qatar, and he also recorded a number in his name in this tournament, and fourth place in the World Senior Championship, which was in 2013.

The London 2012 Olympic medal is considered the most prominent achievement of the Egyptian Olympic quadrants. “Yahya” participated in this tournament and succeeded at that time in occupying fourth place in the 85 kg weight class. Four years later, the samples of the first champions were re-analyzed to prove that the competitor ahead of him had taken steroids. He was stripped of his medal and our Egyptian weightlifter received the bronze medal. Concerning this, he says, “I was informed of the medal.” By re-analyzing the samples by the International Olympic Committee in 2016, the player from whom the medal was withdrawn filed an appeal with the International Sports Court. This appeal was rejected, and the ruling became final in my favor. I will be officially honored at the 2024 Paris Olympics, either at the opening ceremony, the closing ceremony, or on the sidelines. 85 kg competitions, the weight I was playing at.”

The organizing committee for the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games recently announced that it had invited Egyptian weightlifter Tarek Yahya to receive the bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympics.

Regarding his expectations for the Egyptian quad in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, he says, “Weightlifting has become a sport that enjoys great support from the state and sponsors, and this now gives the players greater opportunities to achieve more than one medal. I wish success to all the players, and I advise them to try to overcome the fear of the beginning of the Olympic competitions, especially since the Olympic competitions are more difficult.” Of the world championships because they depend on the total, while the world championships depend on the snatch and clean lifts, and it is possible for the athlete to win a medal in the snatch or the clean. As for the Olympic tournaments, their competitions depend on the total. If you fail at the beginning, you will not be able to compensate for that, especially since the number of competitors in one weight exceeds thirty players. You must compete with the same ferocity in the two halves, which ultimately constitute the total on the basis of which your ranking is determined, and every player must make sure that this moment is the sum of your efforts for four consecutive years, so you must be fully focused to achieve the best results.”